Following Major League Soccer’s scheduling of his LA Galaxy side playing against Real Salt Lake in the first and third weekends of the season, Arena isn’t happy his team are having to face their fierce rivals back-to-back. He has a point.

Given the fact that this match is one of the biggest rivalries out West, with recent MLS Cup showdowns and plenty of other tense moments playing out between the teams, then wouldn’t playing each other back-to-back diminish the rivalry somewhat?

The new season must have begun, because Bruce Arena is complaining about the schedule. In what has become a Major League Soccer tradition, the LA Galaxy boss has strong words for those who determine when and where the 19 teams will play, and his unhappiness this time is about back-to-back games with the same opponent.

The Galaxy face the first of three such situations on Saturday afternoon, when they visit Real Salt Lake. LA lost a home to the Utahns in a season opener two weeks ago, and this is their first league encounter since.

“We’ve tried to make it clear to the league that we thought this was not the way to do it, but they have their own minds,” Arena said after a light training session Thursday at StubHub Center. “We’re going to be the only team in the league doing this on three occasions this year. I don’t think it’s good.”

Arena’s side face back-to-back matches vs. Vancouver next month and then the same with Seattle at the end of the season, as their chances of winning the Western conference title come down to some pivotal stretches. Arena isn’t a fan of that, and rightly so. Eventually the spectacle will be ruined, as both teams cancel each other out as they’re so familiar with each others tactics and tendencies. However the only reason the teams are playing home and away so close together is because of LA’s CONCACAF Champions League commitments, which means LA created this issue in the first place as their game vs. D.C. United was rearranged to August.

Still, I’m with Bruce on this one, it may have been better to rearrange the second game vs. RSL for much later in the season. What about you?